Intravenous infusion bottle holder



6, 1968 1.. A. MARSHALL 3,395,882

INTRAVENOUS INFUSION BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Sept. 19, 1966 INVENTOR. 401/105 A filfi'l/ALL United States Patent 3,395,882 INTRAVENOUS INFUSION BOTTLE HOLDER Louise A. Marshall, San Antonio, Tex., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force Filed Sept. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 580,548 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-318) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A holder for retaining a container of intravenous fluid in position during the infusion process including a fabric body portion having snap fasteners attached thereto forming a substantially cylindrical configuration with an elasticized neck portion. A strap is attached to the holder for supporting the bottle in the inverted position and horizontally spaced vertically staggered elongated clear plastic windows are provided in the body portion to show the nature and amount of intravenous fluid in the bottle during the entire infusion procedure.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the United State Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon. This invention relates to an intravenous infusion bottle holder for retaining a container of intravenous fluid in position during the infusion process, and is more particularly concerned with providing a holder into which a bottle containing fluid can instantly be inserted or replaced and which is suitable for use when patients require intravenous infusion of the fluid during transportation or transfer especially While being aeromedically evacuated and the journey is subject to the usual conditions of turbulence.

One of the most important considerations in the intravenous infusion of blood, plasma, saline, glucose or other agents is the control and maintenance of flow of fluid to the patient at the particular rate most beneficial as determined by the physician in charge. The desired rate at which the fluid is administered will depend upon a number of factors including the type of fluid and the condition of the patient. Failure to maintain the fluid flow within an acceptable rate range may cause injury to the patient by infusing too much or too little of the fluid into the patients system within a specified time interval.

The stability of the bottle which contains the fluid to be infused plays an important part in the maintenance of the flow rate at a constant level, particularly under adverse conditions such as duringloading and unloading of patients and in plane-to-plane or plane-to-ambulance transfer of patients.

The invention herein disclosed provides a bottle holder which is completely dependable even under unfavorable conditions and yet is easily usable by medical personnel having a minimum of training. The procedure commonly used of tying infusion bottles with gauze and adhesive tape or any other material that happens to be handy is elminated by using the bottle holder herein described and the danger of slippage and change of position of the bottle relative to the patient with the resultant probability of damage and change of flow rate is no longer a problem.

Many times, particularly under emergency conditions, it is imperative that the patient receive the infusion as quickly as possible and, where are large number of patients involved, the time factor becomes highly significant. With a limited number of medical personnel available, the time consumed in attaching the infusion bottle to the litter and retaining it safely in position should be kept to the absolute minimum in order to expedite the handling of more patients with the least possible amount of delay in starting the infusion process. By providing a bottle holder which is easily applied to the intravenous bottle by a simple snapping operation, the invention herein disclosed allows the infusion bottle to be quickly prepared as soon as the patient is in position to receive the infusion and also allows for the preparation and positioning of a new bottle for continuation of the intravenous infusion with the minimum elapse of time thereby greatly increasing the effectiveness of the medical staff as well as the chance of the survival of the patients being treated.

Another important consideration when transporting patients while receiving intravenous infusions is the protection against breakage of the infusion bottle if it should accidentally come in contact with a hard object such as the litter frame or litter pole suspension bracket, particularly during take-off and landing of the carrying aircraft.

The present invention provides protection against accidental breakage of the infusion bottle by including a layer of fabric or the like around the bottle which acts as protective padding therefor. Also, view areas are provided in the bottle holder to show the amount of fluid remaining therein as well as the type of fluid being intravenously administered. A strap and buckle arrangement on the bottle holder is utilized for the purpose of securing the infusion bottle to an appropriate portion of the litter frame or aircraft section.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an intravenous infusion bottle holder which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture from readily available materials and easily and quickly attachable to an appropriate structural member.

Another object of the invention is to provide an infusion bottle holder which permits a fixed number of medical personnel to handle a larger number of patients requiring infusions. This result is accomplished because of the rapidity and ease with which the infusion bottle can be positioned within the holder and attached to a suitable support.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an infusion bottle holder which holds the bottle in a stable position so that the rate of flow of the infusion fluid is maintained at a constant value. By preventing slippage and relative position change of the bottle with respect to the patient, the constant infusion rate is maintained even under adverse conditions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an intravenous infusion bottle holder which protects the bottle from accidental breakage by surrounding the outer surface of the bottle with a protective layer of fabric or padding so that inadvertant contact with a hard object will not result in breakage.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an infusion bottle holder having view areas in the body thereof which permit the attending medical personnel to note the type of fluid being administered as well as the amount of fluid remaining in the bottle.

These and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent after considering the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings and appended claim.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts in the several views;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the infusion bottle holder according to the invention having a bottle disposed therein ready to be used for intravenous infusion; and

FIG. 2 is a layout view of the bottle holder showing the relative location of the various sections thereof prior to attachment around the infusion bottle.

Refenring now to the illustrative drawings the invention includes a main body portion 13 having a plurality of downwardly extending tab members 15. An elastic strip 17 in extended condition is sewed laterally across the bottom of the body portion 13 connecting the tab members 15 to one another and serving to draw them together when the elastic strip 17 is released and returns to its normal .unextended condition.

Near one side of the body portion 13, there is positioned a series of male snap fasteners 19 fixedly attached through the material of which the body portion 13 is fabricated. A corresponding series of female snap fasteners 21 are attached along the opposite side of the body portion 13 to. a plurality of outwardly extending tab members 23. Elongated viewing windows 25 are vertically positioned in the central section of the body portion 13 for observing the amount and nature of the contents in the container held by the bottle holder. The viewing windows 25 are spaced horizontally from one another and vertically staggered so that the entire contents of the container are visible by observing one or the other of the windows 25. A transparent plastic material may be inserted in the viewing windows 25 as shown in the drawings or the openings may be left uncovered exposing the sidewall of the infusion bottle.

A metal tipped woven strap 27, which may be of the standard military type, is attached vertically to the main body portion 13 parallel to one of the viewing windows 25 near the side of the body portion 13 to which the female snap fasteners 21 are attached. A considerable portion of the strap 27 extends above and beyond the upper edge of the body portion 13. In a location which would be diametrically opposite that of strap 27 when the bottle holder is wrapped around an infusion bottle, there is located a second woven strap 29 having a buckle 31 attached to the upper free end thereof. The strap 29 as well as the buckle 31 may also be of the standard military type so as to engage with the free end of the strap 27 and form a closed loop section for retaining the holder and its contents in an inverted hanging position on an appropriately located structural member.

In use, the main body portion 13 of bottle holder is wrapped around the bottle 33 which contains the intravenous infusion fluid. The side tab members 23 with the female snap fasteners 21 attached thereto are placed over and in alignment with the male snap fasteners 19 located on the other side of the main body portion 13. In order to align the male and female snap fasteners at the lower end of the body portion 13, it is necessary to draw them toward one another by partially extending the elasticized strip 17 which is sewed between the tab members 15. This operation tightens the lower section of the bottle holder around the neck of the bottle 33 and, when the lower snap fasteners 19 and 21 are in snapped engagement, the bottle is held in position so that it cannot slip downward out of the holder. The strap 27 is then placed through the buckle 31 on the strap 29 and thereby forms a loop or handle so that the holder and bottle can be attached to some conveniently located structural member, either on the litter on which the patient is resting or on some suitable part of the aircraft structure in close proximity to where patient is located. Also, the strap 27 may be placed through a conveniently located closed loop member and then buckled to produce a more secure attachment arrangement for the bottle holder.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, a series of three snap fasteners are indicated for installing the bottle in the bottle holder. This allows a new bottle to be inserted in place of the old bottle by merely manipulating three snap fasteners which can be quickly and easily accomplished. This feature is very important where a continuous intravenous infusion is required. However, more than three fasteners may be utilized if necessary or desirable and the time available for installation of the infusion bottle in the holder is not critical.

The main body portion 13 of the bottle holder may be fabricated from any suitable material such as, heavy canvas, quilted plastic or padded fabric. Also, in place of the woven straps 27 and 29 held together by the buckle 31, there may be substituted a nylon tape fastener means such as velcro which joins by merely applying pressure and separates by a peeling motion. The snap fasteners 27 and 29 may also be replaced by this arrangement. Where more stability is required, a tie-down may be included near the free end of the inverted bottle to prevent swinging motion of the bottle holder, particularly under turbulent conditions on the aircraft. The size, shape and position of the viewing windows 25 may be modified, if desired, so as to permit a clearer view of the contents of the infusion bottle 33. For example, the length and width of the window openings may be increased so as to extend from the top to the bottom of the infusion bottle. This modification is particularly significant where patients are located in dimly-lit sections of the aircraft or where the lights have been dimmed to aid the patients in sleeping.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain changes, alterations, modifications and substitutions, including those previously mentioned particularly with respect to construction details, can be made in the arrangement and location of the various elements without departing from the true spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An intravenous infusion bottle holder for retaining a container of intravenous fluid in position during the infusion process comprising a main body portion of substantially rectangular configuration, a series of tab members extending downwardly from the lower edge of said body portion, an elastic strip interconnected between said tab members, said elastic strip being attached while in extended condition to said tab members causing said tab members to be drawn together when said elastic strip is released and returns to its normal at rest condition, fastening means for fixedly connecting the left and right sides of said body portion when said body portion is wrapped around the infusion bottle, attaching means for supporting the bottle holder with the infusion bottle contained therein in an inverted position for administering an intravenous in-fusion to a patient, and a plurality of vertically oriented elongated viewing windows of clear palstic material inserted in cut-out sections in the wall of said body portion, said viewing windows being positioned in the central section of said body portion and spaced horizontally from one another and vertically staggered such that the entire contents of the bottle are visible to show the amount and rate of discharge of the intravenous fluid in the bottle during the entire infusion procedure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,362,020 11/1944 Morrow 2A8102 2,494,632 1/1950 Rodin 248102 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner. 

